I agree and I’ve looked into them. My French sister thinks it’s a bad idea. I think they might be kind of expensive but I could look into reliable used ones.
Insurance is really expensive though says Vero - as they are the solution for convicted drunk drivers etc. Plus you’d never accrue a No Claims Bonus it would be money down the drain.
I think the OP would do well to think more flexibly in the period before they come to France. There’s lots more difficult stuff here that they will also struggle wirh if they are not considering alternative solutions. Are they sure France is for them?
I doubt that you really need to stay with them full time- just enough to fulfill the residency requirements for OH. You might just need to appear to be in OH for 6 months.
Thanks, Nunthewiser. I wonder how I can prove that I “live” there. What bills could be sent there? I wouldn’t be able to get a lease agreement from them. This is tricky.
Could they add you to a utility bill? For example, I was able to get my mum to add my name to her electricity bill in the UK.
You might need a couple of proofs, though.
Ask your friends to add you to a utility bill and buy them some heating oil???
I haven’t asked them. I could maybe have my cell phone bill sent there.
Come and live in Strasbourg. You don’t need a car here. If anything, it’s a liability.
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I am moving to Toulouse. I have sisters , an aunt and friends there.
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But thanks! I love Strasbourg. Once I am in Toulouse I will take my sister there to see the Christmas Market!
Surely then you have abundant taxi drivers until you have swotted up on your test.
Sorry, just my little joke and I do sympathise having had everything laid on a plate for me so I really do hope you find a suitable solution soon. 
Thanks. I’ll deal with this in 2 years!
@Alecross, I have friends who got Ohio licenses. It sounds like it was fairly simple. Let me know if you are interested in their experience.
I’d like that, thanks! I just can’t move there since I’ll have a place in MN until I move to France. Once I have another license I’d have to give up my MN one.
So this is what they told me: they went to visit family in Ohio. They needed two financial statements with an Ohio address to get DLs. They wanted a US address anyway, so their family member allowed them to change the addresses with their bank, and two credit cards, to the family member’s address. They printed out the e-statements and took them to the DMV. That was it. They did this a few months prior to their move. They now have their US mail going to their Ohio family member’s house, and then were each able to exchange their Ohio license for a French permis once they arrived.
Wow, that’s easy! Thanks for the info. So, I would have to go to Ohio at least once.
You’re welcome. You would have to go there; I’m not sure that there is any state where you can get a license without visiting, though.
Oh, that’s fine. I can stay with my friends. I can probably change that my bank and a couple of credit card statements are sent to OH 3 months before my move or something like that.
Oh, good. They just printed theirs online, though, so I think it only took a couple of weeks, maybe.
How long did it take from the time they applied in person to the time they received the license?
It’s been a couple of years now, so my friend isn’t sure, but she thinks that it was about 4 weeks. And, obviously, double check this before you go, if you decide to go that route. I researched this pretty extensively before we moved; the states all have such different rules, it’s so interesting. And things could of course have changed.